Podcast
The Alternative Data Podcast
Hosted by Mark Fleming-Williams · EN
On this show we reveal some of the latest developments in the fast-growing Alternative Data sector. Satellite imaging, news-crawling, credit card data... and many more fresh new data sources are increasingly being used by investors to gain a competitive edge when making market decisions. We speak to data providers, asset managers, and anyone else in the sector to better understand this dynamic phenomenon.
For more of an introduction to Alternative Data and its past, present and future, please check out this blogpost: https://www.exabel.com/blog/alternative-data-the-past-present-and-future
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Nico Smuts Episode
2w ago00:48:07Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Nico Smuts, a senior data scientist formerly of Citadel now on gardening leave.In our conversation, Nico and I discuss his evolution from a long-short investor in South Africa to a Citadel senior data scientist in London, via an interesting project at Imperial University using Telegram data to find alpha on crypto. We also discuss the impact of AI on hiring and organizations and how the alternative data space has evolved.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Nico Smuts recorded in May 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Nico Smuts and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Vadim Khidekel Episode
May 500:57:28Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Vadim Khidekel, a semi-retired buyside quant with 30 years experience at houses like Art Advisors and Teza Technologies.In our conversation, Vadim and I discuss the evolution of quant investing and data, what makes a great quant, what to do with data types like job data, patent data, the problems with credit card data, crowded datasets and a lot more.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Vadim Khidekel recorded in May 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Vadim Khidekel and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Brickroad Episode
Apr 2700:45:55Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Freeman Lewin, co-Founder of Brickroad, a data sourcing company that began by servicing not hedge funds but AI labs.In our conversation we discuss the evolution of AI labs data needs, and differences between how they and hedge funds approach data.My apologies for the sound quality for large parts of the recording.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Freeman Lewin recorded in April 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Freeman Lewin and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Yipit Data Episode
Apr 600:52:13Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Vin Vacanti, Co-founder and CEO of Yipit Data, which is one of the largest providers in the alt data space.In our conversation, Vin and I discuss Yipit’s fascinating evolution from Groupon deal aggregator to alt data unicorn, why consumer data led in alt data types, how he approaches pricing, and much else besides.Meanwhile, if you have any feedback on the alternative data podcast I’d love to hear from you on LinkedIn.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Vin Vacanti recorded in April 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Vin Vacanti and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Zach Zboralske Episode
Mar 3000:58:43Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Zach Zboralske, until recently a senior sales representative at Consumer Edge. I subtitle this episode “Confessions of an Elite Alt Data Salesman”.In our conversation, Zach and I discuss the evolution of transaction data, pricing, selling to quants vs discretionaries, and Zach’s new challenge at Stavtar.Correction – when I’m describing the evolution of credit card data with Yodlee I say credit cards when I mean hedge funds, sorry about that.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Zach Zboralske recorded in March 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Zach Zboralske and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Christina Qi Episode
Mar 1600:43:45Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Christina Qi, founder and CEO of challenger market data provider Databento and former founder of HFT hedge fund Domeyard.In our conversation, we discuss the challenges of starting an HFT hedge fund, how Databento differentiates itself in the market data space, how AI labs are using market data and the hazards of being based remotely in Utah.As we mention in the episode, we will be on stage together at Quantvision on Thursday, and I will be at Eagle Alpha on Wednesday. I look forward to catching up with familiar faces in New York.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Christina Qi recorded in March 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Christina Qi and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Charles-Albert Lehalle Episode
Mar 200:54:57Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Charles-Albert Lehalle, a professor at Ecole Polytechnique formerly of ADIA and CFM.In our conversation, we discuss Yann LeCun’s theory of AI world models, the differences between working for banks, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds, how to diagnose why performance is bad, and the dream alpha-generating dataset. More broadly, I never hear any feedback on the podcast so if you have any, please find me on LinkedIn and let me know. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Evan Reich Episode
Feb 901:00:42Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Evan Reich, a veteran of the alt data space who has worked at Millennium, SAC Capital, Quandl and most recently Verition in various data roles.In our conversation Evan and I discuss a wide range of topics from how to hire a good data sourcer, to which data types are overrated, to whether exclusivity is a thing in the data market, to which jobs AI will erase first in our space.In the podcast we mention Evan’s excellent conversation on Matei Zatreanu’s System2 podcast, which you should also check out if you like this one. DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Evan Reich recorded in February 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Evan Reich and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Natalya Dmitriyeva Episode
Feb 200:43:25Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Natalya Dmitriyeva, former senior data strategy executive at Two Sigma and Schonfeld.In our conversation, Natalya and I discuss her career evolution as it tracked that of the whole alternative data sector. She opines on what makes a dataset valuable and the latest buzz out of Battlefin Miami last month.In other news, I will be hunting for interesting datasets in Japan during the week of February 9th, so please do reach out if you know of any, either there or indeed anywhere else. DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Natalya Dmitriyeva recorded in January 2026. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Natalya Dmitriyeva and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Conor Taggart Episode
Nov 1001:06:37Tap to summarizeIn this episode I speak to Conor Taggart, an alternative data veteran who is now in charge of Data Monetization at Eagle Alpha.In our conversation, Conor and I discuss his progress from selling indexes at LSEG, through joining Nasdaq in time for the Quandl acquisition, to a successful four years heading up equities data sourcing at Millennium, to his resting place in his current role.In other news, I will be on the data panel at QuantMinds in London on November 19th, I look forward to seeing familiar faces there. DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Conor Taggart recorded in November 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Conor Taggart and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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